Ancestral Ties
by Gift of the Dragons
Summary: When a visitor comes to NYC, Trixie and Spud learn about their magical ancestors. Rated T for Teen. Rating due to violence and for safety.
1. Introductions

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Author's Note: This will explain some things to you readers that may not be mentioned in the story. The story takes place three years after the final episode. I haven't as yet decided to include Rose. When Jake and Lao Shin become dragons, they look the same as they do in season 1. Edited on 08/05/12. Enjoy.

Chapter I

Jake turned himself into a dragon and grinned at his friends. They were familiar with this transformation, knowing about his family secret for three years now. Today, the three friends were addressing an alarming problem; Trixie and Spud needed to learn to fight. As of late, anyone who was even suspected of having a connection to any magical creatures was at danger from the Huntsclan, who had been growing bold in their attacks.

"You guys ready?" Jake asked.

The nodded and brought their fists up in a defensive stance. There were only two rules in this: No killing, maiming, or drawing blood, and no using fire. Knocking people off the roof fell under the first rule of 'no killing, maiming or drawing blood.' When Lao Shi told the three of them this, Trixie complained.

"Jake can fly!" she reasoned. "If he falls off, then he can just fly back up here."

"Yes," the elderly man concurred. "But he can still fall and be hurt. And what should happen if one of you two fell? Jake may catch you, but what do you think would happen if he wasn't fast enough?" Trixie winced at his words, while Spud looked confused.

"What _would_ happen?" Spud asked.

Lao Shi raised an eyebrow; every day, this boy managed to surprise him. "You would likely be dead. If you somehow lived, you would be broken and in a lot of pain."

"Just like one of my mom's china plates that I broke last night! It broke into a lot of little pieces, and looked like it was in a lot of pain." Spud smiled as he figured out just how badly it would hurt to fall off the roof.

Lao Shi looked at Jake questioningly, but his grandson shrugged.

Jake rushed at Trixie, faked a left and struck out with his right, using the heel of his hand so as not to leave bruises. The hit caught her shoulder and she stumbled back a step, but caught her balance. Jake turned to Spud and flicked his tail out at Trixie, catching her ankle and making her fall over. Spud lifted his leg up in a roundhouse kick, but Jack caught his leg.

If this was a real fight, Jake would have twisted his leg and knocked Spud down. Since it wasn't, he instead pulled on Spud's leg, making him lose balance. Fu Dog, who had stayed up as a referee, started laughing at the two humans.

"Oh, I haven't seen something like that in a few hundred years! It was so good," he choked out as Jake returned to his human form.

"And if that was so funny, why don't you fight?" Trixie snapped.

"I know that _I'm_ not cut out for fighting. I mean, look at me." He emphasized by lifting a curl of dog skin and muscle. "And no, before you say it, I'm not fat. It's mostly skin. I am a Shar Pei after all." Fu Dog chuckled before continuing. "You two have known Jake for years, yet neither of you have tried to work on your fighting skills. So now fighting him is a bad idea, because he has years of experience under his belt, while you have zip."

Trixie blushed. "I'll show you zip," she muttered.

"I heard that. Someone's coming," Fu Dog got down on his paws when the door opened. "Woof," he greeted.

Lao Shi stepped onto the roof with someone Jake had never seen before. Her hair was brown, but the sun turned the outline gold. Her eyes were gray like clouds before a storm. He figure was rather lithe, like she ran track, although she was not very tall. Her jeans were normal enough, but the jacket had a dragon that ran up the torso, and two more that ran sown the sleeves, breathing black fire onto her hands. She lifted he mouth in a slight smirk before bowing.

The girl straightened up and her eyes flicked over to Fu Dog, who was still on his paws. She grinned and tackled him to the ground. Fu Dog had an arm wrapped around his neck while she scratched him behind an ear. His eyes glazed over and he started kicking a foot.

Spud asked "What are you doing?"

"Oh. Sorry. I couldn't help myself." She stood up and smirked again. "I love dogs, and I couldn't help but pet him." The girl paused, and Fu Dog managed to get himself off his back. "My name is Fora. And you three would happen to be…?"

"I'm Jake."

"Trixie."

"Huh? Oh, I'm Spud. It's nice to meet you," Spud said, walking forward with a hand outstretched.

For a shook his hand and told them "Your grandfather asked me to aid you with-"

"We are going to be leaving," Lao Shi interrupted. "We are going to the Dragon Summit and we need Trixie and Spud to take over your duties while we are gone. Haley is at camp, so she isn't available at the moment. And since the dragon costume was destroyed last Halloween, the two of you cannot use that."

Jake bit his lip when his grandfather mentioned last Halloween. A couple of rowdy trolls somehow broke into the shop and destroyed the costume. Lao Shi didn't blame Jake, but that didn't keep him from feeling guilty.

"So your grandfather called me in to help," Fora finished. "He wants me to make a potion for your friends so they can temporarily become dragons."

"Wait, Trixie interrupted. "There's a potion that can do that?" Fora nodded. "Then why didn't Fu Dog use that before?"

"Fu Dog?"

Fu Dog pulled on Fora's sleeve until she looked down. "Here, I'm Fu Dog."

Fora smiled and patted him in the head. "The potion isn't very well known anywhere. After you take the potion, I will instruct you on how to fight as dragons. I do have to ask; do either of you have a magical lineage?" Confusion spread like wildfire between the three friends. "I mean, do the two of you have anyone in your family who is magical or knows magic?"

"My grandfather was a magician," Spud said.

"Did he know any real magic?"

"I don't think so. Actually, I don't know."

Fora frowned and rubbed her jaw. "Then we'll have to take a chance. What about you, Trixie?" Trixie shook her head. Fora clapped her hands together. "Then I'll get started on that potion. I brought almost everything I need, but there is one more thing…"

Jake asked "What do you need?" He regretted talking almost immediately. Fora walked up to him and pulled some of his hair out. "Ouch! What was that for?" He rubbed the top of his head. "What'd I do?"

"You didn't do anything. That was the last thing I needed. Thank you very much." Fora walked over to the door, and then called back to them "I'll be back when the potion is finished."

Jake rubbed the top of his head. "She is some crazy chick," he complained.

Fu Dog walked over to the door. "Hey Gramps, do you mind being the referee? I'm pretty interested in that potion," he explained.

He ran down the stairs without waiting for an answer. Lao Shi sighed. Jake turned himself into a dragon again, and brought himself into position. Trixie and Spud brought their fists up into defensive stances, and the training resumed.


	2. Dragon Scales and Puppy Dog Tails

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. Nor do I own Wile. E. Coyote. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Author's Note: I'm sorry about the description later in this chapter about all the feet and everything, but I just want to make the difference between Trixie and Spud rather clear. Edited on 08/05/12.

Chapter II

Fora filled her potion bottle with water from the kitchen sink, then set her materials on the counter. She sorted the ingredients before beginning. First, she tied the hair she took from Jake with some from Haley and Lao Shi, who both willingly gave her some of their hair. She then pulled a few of her hairs from her head and tied them to the end.

Making sure the knots were tight, Fora took a lock of sphinx hairs and tied them to the human hairs, twisting the hairs together in a double helix. She fished out her matchbox and took out a match. She struck it against the sandpaper strip and lit one end of the hairs. The match fizzled out as Fora dropped the quickly burning hair into the bottle, making sure any ashes fell in as well. The liquid turned light green, which seemed to please the girl.

Fu Dog stopped at the door and peeked into the kitchen. He silently cursed when he realized he missed the first few steps of the potion, but decided he would watch the rest. It may come in handy. Perhaps he could use it to some of his debt. He would just have to figure out what would happen without the first few steps…

Fora continued working seemingly oblivious to the visitor. She measured out the grams of hydra scales, then added them to the potion. Next was a sprig of hemlock; the poisonous plant would counteract the poison in the basilisk venom, but both had useful properties, if one could get around the deadly poison.

Fora then pulled out a chopstick and stuck it into the potion, which had turned a violent shade of violet. After a moment, she pulled it back out and frowned. The wood of the chopstick in the potion had disintegrated, leaving a quarter inch of wood left. She bit her lip and put the wood down on the counter.

"Yes!" Fora remembered; she needed to add a seed from an apple from the Garden of Hesperides.

She dropped the seed in, which smoked slightly as it entered and dissolved in the liquid, which lightened to a shade between lilac and lavender. Fora took out the remaining chopstick and set it in the potion. After a moment, she pulled it out. Unlike before, the chopstick was unchanged.

Fora pulled out two cups from her materials and poured half of the potion into each. Before she left, Fora dumped some powder into the potion bottle. It was regular sea salt, to clean out the potion from the bottle. She gathered everything else up and put it away.

"I know you're there Fu Dog." He stiffened, wondering what he had done to give himself away. "You didn't do anything. I just felt a presence and figured it was you." This was a lie; she heard him coming down the stairs, but didn't want to insult him. "No, I'm not going to tell you how to make the potion either." Fu Dog sighted and dejectedly walked back up to the roof. Now he may never be able to fully pay off his debt. And Rocky was coming to collect next Monday…

"And you are sure this will work?" Trixie asked again, still unsure of the purple potion.

"Positive," Fora said again. "As long as you don't have any magical ancestors, you two will be fine."

"And what if we do?"  
"Depends. Nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-eight times out of one billion uses will make the genes from the magical ancestors active."

"And the other two times?"  
"It will kill you, or the potion won't work."

"Wonderful," Trixie drawled.

Lao Shi and Jake left after making sure everything would be all right. Granted, Fora didn't tell them about the one in one billion percent chance that the two humans could be killed. The chances were astronomical, and she didn't really have the chance to tell them. The two had left as soon as possible; whatever reason they had for leaving must have been very important.

Spud smelled the potion fumes and recoiled. "It smells like my gym locker," he noted.

Fora replied "If you're saying it smells horrible beyond words, then good. That's how it's supposed to smell. Can we please hurry this up? It tastes better than it smells."

The two held their breath and swallowed the potion. Fora was right; the taste was rather delectable, even more so when compared to the smell. To Trixie, it tasted like Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin spice and ginger on the tongue. Spud tasted his mom's lasagna and onions. He'd gotten used to the taste after eating so many for Stacey's sake.

It felt like electricity was running up and down their arms and passing into the spine before washing down to the toes. The tingling relaxed the muscles and sedated the two teens. They found themselves falling down onto the floorboards, unable to move.

"Goodnight," Fora said.

Jake asked Lao Shin "Do you think they'll be alright?"

"Of course," he answered with complete confidence. "If anything happened, Fu Dog would let us know. But come, Jake, we have a meeting to attend."

"Have I ever said that I hate this elevator?" Jake answered, stopping in front of the open doors of the before-mentioned elevator.

"Yes, plenty of times."

Spud jumped into the air, whooping. It had only been five minutes since he and Trixie woke up, but he was having fun. He never knew how much fun it could be to be a dragon. Of course, he would never tell Jake that. It was something you just don't do. Even so, being a dragon rocked. Fora was teaching them to use their abilities and Spud just figured out how to breathe fire. It felt like honey in his throat, only moving up rather than down to his stomach. It had tickled, and Spud could barely control the desire to laugh.

Trixie, on the other hand, was having difficulties. At first, couldn't bring the fire to the fore, and when she did, it came out as little sparks and embers. Trixie then growled in frustration, angry at herself.

"Relax. It doesn't come so easily for some people," Fora reassured. "Since you're having difficulty with fire, perhaps your abilities lie somewhere else." Trixie shook her head and sighed. She flinched when a plume of fire jetted out of her mouth. "You see? Just don't think about it too hard. How about we try flying next?"

"Yeah!" Spud agreed. He was pumped and ready to go. Trixie looked dubious. "It's going to be awesome!"

"Go stand on the ledge of the building."

The two new dragons did as she said. Trixie was lilac in color, and the ridges that ran down her spinal cord were lavender. She was rather thin like Lao Shin; Trixie was eight feet long in total, with at least three feet taken up by her tail. Her wings were rather large in comparison, at about six feet.

"Spread your wings out and loosen the muscles."

Spud was olive green, and obviously heavier and stronger than Trixie. He was at least six and a half feet, closer in height to Jake. His wingspan wasn't nearly as large as his friends' and his tail was a modest two and a quarter feet long. His wings were a small four feet total, which wouldn't be enough to lift him, if not for the dragon's natural magic.

"Now go."

Both dragons leaped off the roof, wings extended. Natural instincts kicked in, and their wings began to flap with enough strength to keep them in the air. Some of their magic aided them, making their bodies light enough so they wouldn't fall like Wile E. Coyote in the cartoons. The magic felt like ice in the blood, hot and cold mixing together to create something new.

Trixie quickly learned that, as a dragon, she was a natural born flier. She could perform twists and turns like a snake in water, an ancient dance that sang in her ears. Spud on the other hand, was having difficulty, just as Trixie had problems producing fire. He could perform basic acts, such as hovering, flying forwards and backwards, strafing through the air. He couldn't grasp the stunts that Trixie could handle with ease.

Fora watched from the lip of the roof, a smile playing on her face. Fu Dog, who had been watching the teenagers silently, stepped up to Fora.

"I don't want them to get into trouble," he quietly said.

"I don't think that they will. The two of them are naturals at this," Fora answered, not taking her eyes off the two protégés.

"But that's what worries me." Fora looked at the Shar Pei and raised an eyebrow. "You've talked before about magical blood; what if they have ancestors that were dragons?"

"Then the genes corresponding to the transformation would become active."

"So what would happen to Jake? Would he lose his title as the American Dragon?"

"Unlikely. Those titles only correspond to dragons born in their country. Trixie and Spud weren't born with these abilities. Besides, they may not have magical blood. Spud could just be a pyro, and Trixie a whiz with flying." Fu Dog looked dubious, but didn't respond. "Still, if they are what you think they are, this could open up a whole new avenue of problems," Fora conceded.

Fu Dog looked at the girl sharply, ready to ask her to explain. Instead, they were distracted by an electrical pulse that was shot up from the ground, barely missing Trixie and Spud.


	3. Homestead

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Warning: there will be a violent flashback this chapter, as well as gruesome descriptions and blood. If you do not like reading about violent occurrences, please skip the flashback. If you are easily made sick, please skip the flashback. You have been warned. I'm sorry to those of you who don't like dark chapters or people dying. It's inevitable. Edited on 08/05/12.

Chapter III

"The Dragon Council has brought all of you here today; we face a grave danger, greater than what the Dark Dragon once presented."

A general intake of breath then mutterings flew around the room. Councilor Omina raised her hands for silence. She looked around the room, grasping everyone's attention.

"The Huntsclan have grown bolder these past few months. They have begun attacking magical communities in greater numbers, and a greater show of force. Recently, they have begun to turn to the old ways. It seems that they have rediscovered one of their spells lost in the Great War"

Jake muttered "Great War? Does she mean World War I?"  
Lao Shin shook his head. "The Great War between the Huntsclan and the dragons," he explained.

"This spell allows the Huntsclan to control dragons," Omina continued. Jake felt his spine stiffen. Control…dragons? "Their soldiers have started to use the spell on any dragons they meet, effectively taking them over. How the spell works is unknown to us; no dragon that has been taken with this spell has ever recovered." Jake gasped; he had to warn Spud and Trixie about the Huntsclan!

Fora growled and glared down at the street below, looking for whoever had tried to attack the two dragons. She didn't notice Fu Dog's alarm as she searched the street. The growl deepened as she spotted several members of the Huntsclan, taking aim with one of their weapons. Fora vaulted over the edge of the roof, transforming into a dragon as she moved. She had angular features like a hawk, and was golden in color, with burnished bronze spinal ridges. With the exception of these features, Fora did not differ in appearance from Jake.

"Get down, now!" she roared, directing her words at Trixie and Spud. They quickly flew back to the roof, disturbed by whatever had attacked. "I'll teach you to mess with the dragons," Fora growled. She inhaled, and then released a firestorm upon the soldiers. They ran, their clothes burning with the golden fire. "Never come back here! Ever!"

Fora flew up to the roof and checked to see if Trixie or Spud were injured. The only thing proven to be damaged was their peace of mind. They obviously didn't expect to be attacked, at least not yet. Fora transformed back into her human self.

"Don't worry. Those were only scouts that came here." Neither dragon looked reassured. "If they decide to come back with reinforcements, you'll be ready to fight back. I promise you this."

Fu Dog chimed in "Exactly how long will the potion last? If _we_ need reinforcements, they might not be here for days."

"Then we have seventy more hours until the potion wears off." Fora looked at the three of them in turn. "If we have to hold down the fort, then we will hold it to the end."

"We have to help Trixie and Spud," Jake angrily whispered to his grandfather.

"We can't," Lao Shin replied. "You will have to wait until the meeting is at least over."

Jake grumbled in response. _Don't worry. I'll get there as fast as I can._

"The threat that the Huntsclan now poses to the magical world is undeniable," Omina stated. "The Dragon Council has recognized two responses; hide here, on Draco Island, or fight back the Huntsclan. Hiding may not be an option, as a number of dragons have already fallen prey to their soldiers. At least fifteen off-duty dragons in England, France, Germany and Luxembourg have been taken, as well as twenty in China, Japan, and Mongolia. Only one on-duty dragon, the Korean Dragon, has been taken."

Haley's teacher, Sun Park, was taken over by the Huntsclan? This was worse than Jake thought. He shook his head in dismay, and Lao Shin put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't expect you to become as good as Jake at hand-to-hand combat," Fora reasoned, "but I expect you to at least be able to stand up against and defeat several soldiers at once, without breaking a sweat. We will have a greater chance of holding out against the Huntsclan."

Trixie ducked Spud's kick and grabbed his arm with her tail. She yanked down, pulling Spud down. He swept his own tail out and knocked Trixie over. He forgot to pull his arm away, and he fell with her, knocking the both of them out cold. Fora shook her head in dismay.

"Hey, Fu Dog?" Fora called down to the shop.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to need two ice packs."

"Did they knock each other out?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'll be up in a minute."

Fora looked up and saw Jake and Lao Shin flying as fast as they could. Both were obviously exhausted form flying so far and hard. Jake began to nosedive, but Lao Shin grabbed his arm and held him up. The two of them were too heavy, and Lao Shin was exhausted. The two of them hit the roof and flipped over, turning back into their human forms as they rolled.

"Hey, Fu Dog?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to need four ice packs, instead."

Jake shot up and felt a wave of pain resonate through his body. He groaned and held his head in his hands. A bag of ice wrapped in a towel fell into his lap. Jake picked up the bag, his mind sluggishly sorting his memories in a vain attempt to understand what happened. He remembered the elevator, the meeting, the elevator again (the evil contraption,) flying here, Gramps' history lesson…

Trixie appeared at his side, kneeling on the floor and telling him something. "…into the roof."

"Huh?"  
"I said that you and G were flying here and you two crashed into the roof. What happened?"

Jake scowled. "I can't remember," he admitted.

"You should probably sleep for now. The two of you took a pretty hard hit."

Jake looked around after Trixie left. He was on the couch in the den; no one was around. The TV was off, the lights were off, and except for a quiet conversation drifting in from upstairs, the building was quiet. Something was wrong. Jake slid his feet off the couch and onto the floor. He winced as his muscles protested, and knew that walking would be worse.

He stood up and almost fell over. It felt like he was on fire, and not when he was becoming a dragon. That was good, but this was bad. Jake gritted his teeth and made his way into the kitchen. No one was inside, and someone left a bag of water on the table. Jake was confused, but climbed the stairs. A light was on in his grandfather's room, and the voices were coming from beneath the door.

Jake reached out to grab the door knob, but stopped when he heard someone talking. He usually didn't eavesdrop, but he didn't like what he heard this time, and it was enough to stay his hand.

"…don't know how to tell you this, but I don't think he's going to make it. He's been through worse, I know, I've heard about him. But time catches up to everyone,, and I think its started to take its toll on Lao Shin." Fora; it had to be. She was the only one who called Gramps by his name. "He is by no means young, and that was a hard hit he and Jake took earlier." There was a sigh. "The doctor will come by later. Just let me know when he gets here. If I'm needed, I'll be at my apartment."

Jake froze for a moment. If Fora opened the door, she would know that he was eavesdropping. Jake closed his eyes and opened the door. Fora was a step away from the threshold, Trixie and Spud were sitting in desk chairs on one side of the bed, and Gramps was sleeping in the bed.

"He's hurt, I know," Jake told them solemnly. "Fora… could you stay?" She looked surprised, so Jake took the chance and continued. "I won't be able to fight for a few days, and Trixie and Spud are still learning how to fight as dragons. Gramps… he isn't in any better shape then I am." Fora bit her lip, and then nodded. "There's actually something I have to tell you all." Jake shut the door and leaned against it, getting himself into a comfortable position.

"Before I can tell you what's going on, you've got to know a little history. During World War I, there was another war, between the dragons and the Huntsclan. The leaders of the Huntsclan and the Dragon Council declared war on each other, using the humans' war as a cover up. Both sides thought that they could rid themselves of there enemies. Both sides were wrong, as there are still magical creatures and the Huntsclan today.

"During the war, the Huntsclan discovered a spell written by some pixies; it was originally a joke between friends, but the Huntsclan saw that they could use it to their own ends. The spell was to induce hypnosis in the target, warping their sense of being. The spell was created to be used on dragons, because the pixie's friend was a dragon.

"They killed her, and then tested the spell on the next dragon they fought. Finding that it worked, the Huntsclan began capturing and hypnotizing every dragon they came across. The spell _itself _wasn't widely known, so stopping tit from being used was easy. A cure was impossible, since the pixie that created the spell was killed. Most of the dragons that were hypnotized died… or were killed because they became too violent."

There was silence after Jake stopped speaking. At some point he had closed his eyes, but he didn't care. That was a dark piece of history, something to be seen but not touched. Jake expected a consolation from Trixie or something rather random from Spud. What he didn't expect was a low growling from Fora.

The girl was looking at the wall blankly, her jaw set and a low growl coming from her throat. It was clear she was angry about something, although not what. Fora opened her mouth to answer, but seemed to decide against it.

"I've got to go out for a moment," she muttered.

Fora walked over to Jake and picked him up bridal style before heading down to the den and depositing him on the couch. Jake could hear the front door open and shut before Trixie and Spud came down.

"What was that about?" Spud asked the two.

"I don't know," Jake answered.

Fora walked down the street, thinking of the Huntsclan. She growled lightly and sharply turned right, not paying attention to where she was going. The Huntsclan were at fault for this, just as they have been before. Still, it was not entirely their fault. They were trained and taught from birth to act and think this way; they didn't know any better. Even so, it didn't diminish the pain they left behind.

_Dad sat down at the table and sighed. He picked up his mug of coffee and drank it. It had been another long night at work, Fora guessed. Mom was still asleep, so Fora had made herself a bowl of cereal. She couldn't remember what it was, except that it was chocolaty. Maybe Reese's Puffs, or Cocoa Puffs. Not too much difference, since they were both spherical and tasted like chocolate. Enrike, her brother, walked in and ruffled her hair. He stretched his arms up. Nothing seemed wrong until Dad placed his mug with a clack._

_"Go back to your room Fora. We have some…unwanted visitors here today," her father explained. "Enrike, take her with you. To the panic room."_

_He nodded, he was the older brother; he may have been only fourteen, but she was six. He had to be a good older brother, even if he knew what was going on and he could help._

_"Come on," he said softly. "The cereal can wait; Dad has some business to take care of."_

_Fora nodded and followed her brother into their parents' room. Their mother was up ad walked past the two of them without a word, like she was in a trance. Enrike didn't worry about it, so neither did Fora. The two of them pushed the bed, revealing a metal hatch. Enrike opened it and let Fora in first. The hatch led directly into a small room with pillows and blankets. The room could get cold at night, so the blankets helped to keep warm._

_"It's going to be all right," Enrike said as he closed the hatch. The room lost all light and Fora shivered. There was a clack as Enrike locked the door. "Mom and Dad will be fine, they just have some visitors. Nothing's going to happen, all right?"_

_"Why does it sound like you're reassuring yourself then?" Fora asked._

_She couldn't see him, but Fora knew that Enrike had a shock written all over his face. He didn't answer, instead opting to hold his sister close while the battle waged on above them._

_Fora must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she woke up, Enrike wasn't in the panic room. The hatch was open above, light onto the blankets. Fora climbed out, somewhat groggy after waking. Enrike wasn't in her parents' room, nor were her parents. In fact, it seemed that no one was inside the house, it was so quiet. Looking out the window, she saw that it was about noon. If today was the same day as before she fell asleep, then Fora would only have been asleep for a few hours._

_"Mom? Dad? Enrike?" she called out._

_"Fora?" something asked. "Is that you?"_

_Fora turned to the voice. She choked on a scream, unable to breathe. A bloody _something_ lay on the floor, ripped apart in the middle. People would say that a human that badly hurt, but still being alive would be something of a miracle. For the creature, it was a nightmare; every second longer it lived was another second spent in agonizing pain._

_"Please," the creature begged. "Come here."_

_Fora came up to its face. It had green eyes and brown scales, marred by the blood dripping from its wounds. Scratches ran along wildly on its snout, as though it had been attacked by an animal. Despite these scars, Fora found the creature's presence and manner rather familiar._

_"Dad," she finally sobbed. "What happened?"_

_Fora didn't care that her father looked like he had come from a demented cross of an M-rated movie and a fairytale book. She didn't care that whatever had hurt him may still have been around. All she did care about was her father right then and there, and if she could, avenge the attack._

_"Fora, listen to me," he said, placing a clawed hand on her cheek. "When you get out of here, ask your brother about our family. Don't take me with you. Fora," he sighed as his daughter shook her head, "I'm not going to live much longer. I can feel myself dying. I want you to live. I_ need_ you to live, Fora. Go find your brother. I love you both," he sighed._

_The claw slipped down and hit the floor. It had left a smear of gore on Fora's face, but she didn't care. She hugged the corpse close and cried harder than she ever had or ever would. The salty tears and blood mixed, running onto the floor and staining her clothes._

_When Fora found she could cry no more, she wiped her face with a sleeve, staining her face red with her father's blood. She looked down at the corpse, having gone through rigor mortis while she cried. The cadaver was stiff and straight as a pole. Fora closed her eyes before walking away._

Fora found herself standing in an alleyway, with no clue as to how she got there. She had drowned herself so well in her memories, she couldn't remember how she ended up here. Fora sighed and started walking again.

_Finding Enrike had been harder than she thought. Fora was only six years old, and lost in a world she didn't understand. After wandering into a big city, which happened to be Athens, she quickly, if accidentally, discovered the magical community that dwelled within. These people were unknown to her, but no more so than anyone and everyone else she saw._

_Fora learned quickly how to fend for herself, learning from the denizens of the lower classes. None of those that could truly help her would help her, not without a price. Those times were hard, but every damsel in distress needs a knight in shining armor, right? Well, hers came in the form of the Greek Dragon. He taught her to use her powers, whetting them to his level. Then her knight died, killed by none other than the Huntsclan. It fueled her anger, because she learned something about the magical hunters. They killed her father. The younger dragon was killed by a vertical cut, from the collar bone to the pelvis. Same way her father died._

_Fora left Greece for the New World after his death. Not only did she have to avenge er father's death, but also that of the last Greek Dragon. One other thing spurred her on to New York. Something that kindled hope in her heart. She heard that her brother was in the city, and he had become the Greek Dragon._

Jake lifted the walkie-talkie up to his mouth. "Any sign of her?"

"_None. Over,_" Spud said.

_"I don't see anything either. Spud, why did you say over?"_ Trixie asked.

_"You know how in the movies they always say 'over', 'copy that' 'roger' and stuff like that?"_

_"No."_

_"Well, that completely ruins the point of my argument. Over."_

Jake shook his head, mystified. After Fora left, he, Trixie, Spud and Fu Dog went looking for her. Trixie and Jake searched the air, while Spud and Fu Dog checked the ground. Jake really couldn't see any reason for Fora to storm out like she did. Then again, he didn't know her very well. Actually, he hardly knew _anything_ about her, and that scared him. He and Gramps had let some strange girl so close to them, and now Gramps was hurt. Well, yeah, that wasn't her fault, but Jake still felt rather protective of those close to him. And Fora was not one of those people.

_"None of my buddies have heard anything either,"_ Fu Dog said over the radios. _"I can still look around, if you want. Maybe she just went to her apartment, you know? Cool off for a little bit?"_

Jake felt like smacking himself in the head. He had completely forgotten about that. "Fu Dog, do you know where she's staying?"

_"Yeah, at some hotel not far from Gramps' shop. I'll go check it out."_

"Trixie, Spud, let's go back and check on Gramps," Jake said.

_"Gotcha," _Trixie answered.

_"Roger that. Over and out,"_ Spud said.

Jake shook his head and wheeled about in the air, heading back to his grandfather.


	4. False Reunions

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Author's Note: Edited on 08/05/12.

Chapter IV

Fora made her way into her apartment. The place was neat but cheap, meaning if she wasn't careful, she'd have everything stolen in an hour. So she didn't bring anything of value and hid all of it. Simple and easy. As Fora walked down the hall, she pulled out a key chain and flipped through the keys, looking for the one to her room.

Fora unlocked the door, slipped inside and re-locked it. She sighed and thought _I'm going to need some pain killers and a lot of rest._ Remembering the past always gave her a headache and made her tired. She turned to walk into the kitchen and froze. At first, she thought she was hallucinating. Fora stepped closer, a hand outstretched. She touched his jacket and then hugged him.

"Enrike, where have you been? I've been looking for you since…"

Fora looked up at him. He was still taller than her, a good foot or so. His eyes were brown, somewhere between mud and chocolate, his hair black and somehow shaggy and curly at the same time. He had a scar on his right cheek, where he had accidentally cut himself with glass when he was five.

"Quiet, Fora. I've been busy." His mouth turned to a frown and he pried her hands off of him. Fora stepped back nervously, giving him space. It had been a decade since she had last seen him, and wasn't sure what to do, what to say. Anything could set him off at any time, and Fora wouldn't know what it was she did. "I've had work to take care of. But I guess that you've learned about the family secret?" Fora nodded, and he chuckled. "Then I can do this without consequence." Enrike raised a hand a punched her. Fora staggered back, tasting blood. "It's time to say good night, little sister."

Rose sat on the ledge of an adjacent building, watching the two siblings 'reunite'. She was rather impassive throughout it all, until the boy struck his sister. She winced slightly; she had felt that hit before. Rose turned away from the ensuing fight and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled through the list of contacts before choosing one and pressing the dial button. The phone beeped for a moment before the other line was connected.

"Hello?" the man at the other line said.

"They started fighting, like you said, Huntsman," Rose informed.

"Good. You know what you have to do."

"Sir."

Rose hung up and gave the two siblings one last look before getting up and walking away.

Fu Dog came into to the shop, angry. He stalked up the stairs and went into Lao Shi's room, where he knew the three teens would be. Jake was sitting on the floor, back against the bed. Trixie and Spud were sitting in some chairs that the old man kept in his room. Fu Dog shut the door, barely remembering not to slam it shut, before he told them what happened. He saw that Lao Shin was still unconscious, but it did nothing to deter him from his anger.

"They wouldn't let me in! They kept telling me 'No dogs allowed', even though the receptionist was a leprechaun! I mean, I was talking to him, and he still wouldn't let me in! The nerve of some people," Fu Dog grumbled. "It makes me just want to–"

"Okay," Jake interrupted before Fu Dog could tell them just what he would do. "Maybe Fora just needed some time alone. She got pretty upset because of the Huntsclan. Maybe they did something to her."

"Or her family," Spud thought out loud. "The Huntsclan aren't above using family members to influence dragons, right? So maybe they hurt her parents or something."

Jake and Trixie stared at Spud in awe. Fu Dog was too busy being upset at the leprechaun to notice.

"You're a genius Spud!" Trixie yelled.

"Thank you."

"Maybe we should go and see if she's alright," Jake offered. The bell downstairs rang, signaling that someone had entered the shop. "I'll go get it. Trixie, Spud, do you two think you can find where Fora's staying?"

"Don't worry Jakey. We got this," Trixie reassured him.

Rose opened the shop door and heard the bell ring, meant to tell the shopkeeper that someone opened the door. She stepped in and looked around. No one was at the register, but the shop was still open. Electronic junk was everywhere, not that Rose knew what any of it was for. Rose was about to head out when she heard someone coming down a set of stairs.

"Sorry, Jake said, coming into Rose's view. "I was upstairs and–" Jake stopped mid-sentence, shock apparent on his face. "Rose? Rose, you're back!" Jake yelled, running up to the girl. Rose had to stop herself from cringing when he hugged her, and forced herself to remember the mission. "How was Hong Kong?"

Rose smiled, and answered "It was okay. Not as good as the first trip, but it was okay." Jake hung back; Rose guessed he was unsure what to do. "Why don't you," she started, taking his hands in hers, "come up to my parents, and have dinner with us?"

"Isn't it supposed to be the guy that asks the girl out? Not the other way around."

Rose smiled again and walked out of the shop, calling out "I'll see you at seven, then." She saw Jake smile and wave goodbye.

Spud asked Trixie "So who do you think it was that came into the shop?"

Trixie shrugged. "I don't know; it could've been anyone."

The two had left through the back door, not wanting to distract Jake and scare off the potential customer. Then again, considering the shop's motto, 'Never had a customer, never had a sale,' a customer was rather unlikely. Still, there was a chance, no matter how miniscule, that the shop had a customer.

"Hey Spud, do you remember where Fora's apartment is?"

"Yes," he answered confidently. "Wait, no. Not at all," he said with the same confidence. "But I do remember the room number."

"That doesn't help us at all."

"Fu Dog said the apartment wasn't very far from the shop. And not many apartments have over three hundred rooms," he answered.

"So, what, she's staying in the Empire State Building?"

"No. She's probably staying here," Spud answered. He was pointing to a building just behind them.

"Huh. Convenient."

Fora turned into a dragon and flew outside. Thankfully the window was open, probably because of her brother. If it wasn't, well, it would have been rather painful. The dragon turned in the air and hovered. Enrike followed, turning into a dragon as he shot out of the apartment. He was rather similar in appearance to Fora, except his eyes were brown and his scales gray. Fora narrowed her eyes; gray scales either indicated a molting cycle, or sickness.

Enrike shot a fireball at Fora, interrupting her thoughts. She narrowly dodged it before sending one back. The two sparred like this for several minutes, each of them trying to feel how the other fought. Fora charged at Enrike, before getting slapped down to a roof by his tail. It happened to be the same roof Rose was sitting on, but Fora didn't know that.

The Greek Dragon grinned and stepped on his sister's throat. She gasped and clawed at his leg, but to no avail. Stars blinked in her eyes, and she took a last shot attempt at her brother. Fora launched one last fireball at Enrike. He was caught by surprise and hit directly in the face. It burned and stung, and got him to step off of her throat, but not soon enough. Fora lost consciousness as Enrike tried to put the fire out on his face.

When the last fire was put out, Enrike growled and glared at his sister. He wanted to hurt her for doing that, but it would go against his orders. He picked Fora up, who was still in dragon form, and flew back to base.

"We're looking for someone named Fora," Trixie explained.

The leprechaun raised an eyebrow in question. "No one here by that name," he said.

"You didn't even check the register," Trixie argued.

"Don't have to. I'd know if there was someone by that name."

"Look," Trixie said, lowering her voice. "I know you're a leprechaun. I can give you to the Huntsclan if you don't help us."

Trixie knew that was low, but she didn't want to deal with this. Lao Shi wasn't waking up, Fora went off somewhere and now this leprechaun wasn't letting them in. It was driving her crazy.

"H-here's the keys," he stammered. "She's on the fifth floor."

"That was pretty low," Spud told Trixie once they were out of earshot.

"I know Spud. But I can't take much more right now, I'm pretty stressed."

Spud nodded in understanding. They found the door and Trixie opened it with the key. The door opened, but no one was inside. Trixie frowned and looked through the rooms to see if anyone was inside.

"Hey Trixie," Spud called. "I think there was a fight. There's some blood on the floor, see?" The blood was staining the white carpet; how Trixie missed it, she wasn't sure. "Should we call 911?"

"Yeah, but we should probably call Jake first."

Enrike shifted Fora on his shoulder. Unconscious, she was nothing but dead weight. Rather heavy dead weight at that. Enrike had turned himself back into a human, so as not to arouse suspicion, and was now standing in an alleyway, waiting for someone to open the door he knocked on a minute ago. He grumbled and growled to himself. Finally, there was the sound of locks being slid open and the door itself opened. Rose stood in the doorway. Enrike shifted Fora again before kneeling.

"I have brought a dragon for you, mistress."

Lao Shi groaned and sat up; he had a minor headache, but that was something that could be worked through. He doubted he could fight, as it kept him from concentrating long enough to change forms. He slid himself out of his bed (when did he get in bed?) and opened his door. The building was quiet, so Lao Shi went downstairs to see if Jake or Fu Dog had closed the shop.

"I'm worried, Fu Dog," Jake said. "Gramps still hasn't woken up. What if he's sick, or has a concussion?"

"Don't worry Jake," the Shar Pei reassured. "He's probably just sleeping it off. He'll be up and at 'em in no time." There was a pause, and Lao Shi stepped forward, but paused when Fu spoke again. "Unless," he taunted, "you're worried about that girl."

"What? Why would I be?"

"Because you like her," Fu Dog teased.

Lao Shi decided that enough was enough. He came into the shop and glared at Fu Dog.

"Hello Jake," he greeted, turning to his grandson with a calm look. "Where are your friends and the girl?"

"Fora went off somewhere, and Trixie and Spud went looking for her. I stayed here because someone came into the shop. Turns out it was Rose," Jake explained.

I see," Lao Shi said.

The phone rang and Jake picked it up, because he was closer. Before he could answer, the person on the other end started talking.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Jake said. He hung up and quickly said what happened. "Spud and Trixie think that Fora was attacked at her apartment."

Jake ran into the room, yelling "Where is it?"

"There," Spud said proudly.

Jake looked down at the rug. "That's it? I thought there would be something… bigger."

"Well, we looked around and there was nothing else. Everything was kept neat and clean, except for this. And it still looks wet, which would mean it's fresh."

Jake ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, go and call 911. Something may have happened," he conceded. "If they ask about why we came here, this is what we should say…"

Enrike dragged his sister into the house. Rose led him into the basement, where a set of chains were set into the wall. Enrike touched one of them and hissed. They were infused with sphinx hair, one of the few effective weapons against dragons. He rubbed his hand to try and ease the pain. Rose looked at him and made a 'get going' gesture with her hand. Enrike managed to bind Fora without too much pain. He looked at Rose, who was checking another pair of chains. The room looked like an ordinary, with the exception of the chains and the unconscious girl.

"Mistress," Enrike tentatively started "what will you do with her?"

Rose didn't look up. "The same that has been don with you and the others like you. What else?"

After a few moments, Enrike worked up his nerve. "Mistress, how did the Huntsclan come back together? I remember that a spell was used to disband you all."

"And a spell brought us back together." Rose stood. "Go back and find the other dragons that have been sighted around here. Do not attack; observe only. At six thirty, return here and wait for further orders."

Enrike nodded and left the basement, back to the alleyway. He turned himself back into a dragon and searched for the others like himself.

"You haven't seen anything? You saw the blood here?"

"Yes sir. We saw the blood and called our friend Jake," Spud answered. "We wanted to be sure, and not call the police for nothing."

The officer was perplexed by Spud's attitude towards the situation. Jake and Trixie looked on, with Trixie holding in a few laughs. The officer scratched the back of his head and asked another question and received an answer that left him even more confused.

"Could you repeat that?"

"I think that she was abducted. You know, kidnapped? By gang members," Spud repeated.

"Why aren't you being questioned?" Jake asked Trixie, who shrugged in response.

"I think they'll get to me when they're ready. Since they're asking Spud all the questions first, it will probably take some time"

"And just how did you say this happened?"

"He fell down the stairs and broke his leg; the bone was…"

Fora woke up in a dark room. Her wrists stung, and when she tried to move them, the pain worsened. She bit her lip and looked around. There was barely enough light for her to make out a set of chains with manacles at the end. Looking down at her wrists, she realized she was in a similar set of restraints. Fora growled softly when she realized there was sphinx hair in the manacles. Sphinx hair prevented dragons from using their powers, and prolonged exposure would make them sick.

A door opened and an overhead light turned on. Fora blinked her eyes to try and adjust them to the light faster. A girl walked up to her and stood just out of reach. She had blond hair that went down her back, was wearing a white shirt and tan pants. It looked like she was wearing white Nikes, but the swoosh symbol wasn't visible on the sides. All in all, she was somewhat familiar, but Fora couldn't place her finger on how.

"You're awake? Good. This takes a few days, and you've got to be up most of the time. So try and stay awake." Fora glared at the girl, who pulled out a Huntsclan staff and placed the end against Fora's throat. "Or I'll make you stay awake." She pulled the staff away and started preparing for the spell.

Jake knocked on the door, and then fidgeted nervously. He and Rose broke up a few months ago; there had been no crying, no real sadness. Both had found the need to move on, but felt they could still be friends. Jake found himself hoping that Rose was just trying to be friendly, and that she didn't really want to get back together with him. He wasn't prepared to get into another relationship of that sort.

Rose opened her front door and smiled at Jake. "Come in. My parents are out right now, but they'll be back soon." She stepped aside and let Jake in. The door led right into the kitchen, and Jake could smell something cooking. "That's dinner; my dad was making meatloaf. Do you want something to drink?"

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"Is water fine?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Rose pulled out a pitcher of water and poured it into the cup while Jake looked around the kitchen. The walls were yellow, and there were basic appliances: an oven, a dishwasher, a refrigerator that doubled as a freezer. Rose handed the drink to him and raised her own glass.

Jake smiled at her and said "Cheers." He downed the drink, which tasted odd for water. His vision began to swim, and Jake saw double. "I feel dizzy," he mumbled before falling on the floor.

Fora looked up as the door was opened again. This time, the light wasn't so bright that it hurt her eyes. Enrike came into the room, with Jake on his shoulder. Fora shook her head. _You love struck fool_, she thought. Jake was obviously unconscious, otherwise he'd be putting up a fight. Enrike chained Jake to the other set of manacles, just as he did to his sister before.

"Enrike," Fora said. He ignored her, so she went on. "Why are you doing this? What could possibly make you work with the people that killed our family?" Enrike finished chaining Jake and left, shutting the door. "Why?" Fora asked herself.

Rose looked at the dragon; Enrike looked sick, with his gray scales. Rose, like all other Huntsclan members, had been taught that gray scales indicated a sick dragon, or _graying _scales showed a dragon was going into their molting cycle. _Disgusting,_ Rose thought. But his scales were definitely gray, and Rose wasn't sure if she should be concerned. She didn't care for the dragon, but he was a useful tracker and sparring partner. He was almost as good as she was at fighting. Almost, but not quite.

"Go back out and see if you can find the two dragons. If night falls, come back around midnight. You can sleep then, but be back out at seven. We need to find the other dragons before it's too late."

Enrike bowed and left shedding several scales as he went. Rose reached down and picked one up, frowning at it then at the dragon in the sky.

Lao Shi paced in the shop. He had pulled down the blinds and turned the sign over to 'Closed'. Fu Dog, Trixie and Spud watched the old man pacing, unsure what to say. Finally, he sighed and faced the three.

"Jake has gone missing," he admitted.

"Do you want us to go look for him? Maybe the Huntsclan took him," Spud offered.

"The Huntsclan?" Lao Shi said incredulously. "They were destroyed with the Aztec Skulls."

"Apparently not," Trixie said. "While you and Jakie were out at that dragon meeting, a couple of Huntsclan members attacked us. We got knocked out, but Fu Dog said that Fora fought them and yelled at them to 'never come back'. Sounds a little cliché to me," she finished, with an odd look at the dog.

Spud asked Lao Shi "Would it be possible someone brought the Huntsclan back with some really powerful magic?"

Fu Dog rubbed his chin. "I don't know, but it could be possible. It would have to be someone that remembered the Huntsclan existed, though."

Everyone was silent as they thought about this. Fu Dog went to a book about magical artifacts to see if there was something that could reverse the magic of the Aztec Skulls. He flipped through the pages until it rested on the Aztec Skulls, where he started to read the information written there.

"Spud, you were sort of right," Fu Dog said. Everyone looked over to Fu Dog. "The book says that the Aztec Skulls can be restored, if one knows how. It says that the skulls can be returned using a ritual, blah, blah, blah, and upon restoration, the Skulls will regain their magical abilities."

Author's Note: By the way, when Spud is talking about the bone earlier in this chapter, he is talking about a made up event where Jake was pushed down a set of stairs by Brad (the school bully) and broke his leg. No one saw it happen except for Brad and Jake, so everyone believed Brad rather than Jake except for Spud and Trixie. Jake was not a dragon at the time, so he didn't tell his grandfather.


	5. Eating Steel

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Author's Note: There is more violence in this chapter, as well as cat references. If you do not like violence or cats, please do not read this chapter. Or skip over the violence and the cat. You have been warned. Edited on 08/05/12.

Chapter V

Fora turned her head and glared at the manacles. She had an idea, one that would probably hurt, but one that had to be tried. She started chewing on the chains, making a face at the metallic taste. She barely noticed Jake start to wake up. He looked up at her.

"What are you doing?"

Fora spit the chain out. "Eating steel. Why, what's it look like I'm doing? And shouldn't your first question be 'Where am I?' or 'Where are we?'"

"Uh… I don't know how to answer that."

Fora sighed. "I don't know what it looked like I'm doing, but we're in your girlfriend's basement."

"I don't have a girlfriend!"

"The blond one, seems to have a hatred of dragons, has my brother as a minion. You know, that Huntsclan girl." She picked up the chains again and started to chew on them. If she didn't break her teeth first, she might be able to break the sphinx hairs. "You know," she mumbled around the steel, "you never said what the dragon meeting was about."

Jake looked up. "The Huntsclan rediscovered a spell from the Great War." Fora nodded; she knew about it from her time in Athens. "The spell allows the Huntsclan to control dragons."

Fora froze. All of those little puzzle pieces in her mind fit together into one bigger picture, and Fora didn't like what she was seeing. She didn't like it at all. Her family was attacked, Enrike attacked her, and she and Jake were here. It started to make sense, and Fora bit down hard in anger, breaking the chain.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Spud asked. For once, he was being pessimistic and not Trixie. "We only have one shot at this, you know."

"I know!" Fu Dog snapped. "I'm good at this kind of thing, it's going to work." Fu Dog finished up the tracking potion, and capped it. "When you're ready," he said, handing the potion to Spud, "uncork the potion and let the smoke out. It will lead you directly to Jake. But don't lose sight of the smoke; it works only _once_." Fu Dog emphasized this by holding up a finger. "Once."

"Let's go Spud," Trixie said before running out the door.

"Should I follow them?" Fu Dog asked Lao Shi.

"From a distance. If they truly need help, then contact me."

Fu Dog nodded before running after them.

Fora felt her teeth. "I didn't think it would hurt that much," she complained. After biting off her manacles, she managed to remove Jake's in the same manner. "You ready for this?" she asked Jake.

"Ready."

Rose came into the room, holding a lit candle. Enrike followed her inside, then shut the door and leaned against it. To the two of them, it would look like Fora and Jake were still chained to the wall. If all went well, they wouldn't know the difference. At least, they wouldn't notice until it was too late.

"Why are you doing this Rose?" Jake asked.

Rose didn't look at him when she answered, instead readying the room for the spell. "Because I am a part of the Huntsclan; at other reason do I need? It is our sworn duty to hunt down dragons."

"Why not him? He's a dragon, too."

"You're lucky I tell you why. Knowledge is power, but you two deserve to know, even if you are dragons. Those idiots 88 and 89 accidentally recovered the Aztec Skulls. When they realized what they did, they wished for the Huntsclan to be restored. With the ability to control dragons, I should add.

"This led to the rediscovery of an old spell, lost after the Great War. I don't feel like getting into that history lesson. When 88 and 89 tried to use the spell on a dragon, it didn't quite work out. I killed it; their wish to restore the Huntsclan also returned me to my former self. The other dragons were subdued and controlled. For defeating the dragon, I was awarded with a servant."

Jake was quiet after hearing this, so Fora asked "Can you tell me why my father was killed?" Rose looked at her questioningly. "June 30th, 1998, Athens, Greece!" Fora yelled. "My father was killed by the Huntsclan! My mother and brother went missing! Why?"

Rose put a finger on her chin. "Oh, I can recall. I looked at those files for a test." Fora growled at her, but Rose ignored it. "They began to learn too much about our plans. So they had to be eliminated." Fora growled again and tried to stand. "Oh, don't do that," Rose chided. "You'll only make it worse for yourself."

Fora winced and slid back down the wall. She hadn't hurt herself, only pretended to. She nearly blew her cover, as well as Jake's. Fora then closed her eyes, remembering what her father said to her. _I want you to live. I _need_ you to live._

"Enrike, go out and search for the dragons again. We have to find them."

Fora and Jake locked eyes. If Rose got Trixie and Spud, only Fu Dog and Lao Shi would be left to fight Rose.

Spud uncorked the potion. A thin stream of blue smoke lazily drifted up out of the bottle, coiling and uncoiling.

"That doesn't look so fast," Trixie commented. The smoke started to move lazily in a circle, and then suddenly sped away. They only knew it had left because of a thin stream it had left behind it. "I had to open my mouth," Trixie grumbled as they chased after it.

The smoke was pretty fast, but not fast enough for the two to lose it. It led them down the street a, then through an alleyway, onto another street, through the road and into another alleyway before stopping. It coiled again for a moment before slipping underneath a door. Spud tried to silently open it, but the door was locked.

The two of them stepped away for a moment to figure out what to do (whether they should just bash down the door or not) when the door opened. A slate-colored dragon stepped out and flew into the air. Trixie and Spud both became as still as rabbits. The dragon failed to notice them and few off. They both relaxed and peeked into the house.

The door led directly into a hallway, and to the right was a door, on the left was the entryway into another room. They took the left room, which turned out to be a garage of sorts. A table was covered with machine parts and tools. Two more doors branched off of this room. Both were open; one looked like a kitchen, the other was relatively dim, due to the glow of a candle's light. A clink came from that room, as well as some mutters. Trixie put a finger up to her lips in the universal sign for 'Be quiet.' Spud nodded and followed her.

The two of them managed to get through the cluttered room without touching anything. Spud peeked into the room. From his vantage point, he could see Jake chained to the wall and freaked out.

"Jake!" he yelled. He turned into his dragon form and ran into the room, knocking over Rose, who was taken by surprise. "Jake!" Spud yelled again, ripping the chain stakes out of the wall. He picked up Jake and asked "Jake! Are you all right?"

"Not unless you put me down," Jake answered.

Trixie came into the room, still human. "Jake, what happened?"

"I did." An electrical blast hit Trixie in the back, nearly knocking her out. Rose had picked up one of the Huntsclan's staffs after getting back to her feet. She narrowed her eyes, assessing the situation. It was two against one, three if Trixie could still fight; four if Fora was unchained or if the chains were already broken. Rose put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, high and long. A good cab whistle, if you lived in New York City.

Lao Shi paid for the messenger and resumed pacing in the shop. He knew if he kept doing this, it would wear the floorboards out, but at the moment he didn't care. Something was up, and he knew it. He just didn't know what it was that was going on. In record time, the Dragon Council appeared at the door. Lao Shi ran to unlock the front door, and the members entered. Omina looked back for a moment before shutting the door.

Councilor Kukulkhan went straight to the point by asking "What happened?"

Lao Shi began to explain the situation in as few words as possible.

Enrike was flying over Canal Street when he got a strange feeling. He perched himself on a building, watching four people enter a closed shop on the other side. None of them looked quite right for the city. One was of a darker skin color, and wore an odd purple rob and a golden headdress. A name formed in Enrike's head. _Councilor Andam_, he thought. The next person to enter was paler in color, but more flesh colored than white. He was wearing a green hat and overcoat, as well as gray slacks or khakis and brown sandals. _Councilor Kukulkhan_.

The third man to enter was of lighter coloring than the two before him, with gray hair and a gray beard. He wore a violet robe and a cerulean stole. _He is…Councilor Klude._ The last person to enter was a woman, the only one of the four people. She wore a cerulean dress and an indigo belt. Her hair was dark, and she wore a golden circlet upon her head. Her ears looked somewhat elfin, a trait not shared with the other Councilors. _And she is Councilor Omina._

Enrike hissed as Omina entered. She looked back at him and their eyes locked, before she shut the door on him. Enrike perked his head as he heard a whistle. It was coming from his mistress. Enrike rose into the air, shedding more scales as he moved, heading towards the oncoming battle.

Fora stood and changed into her dragon form, just as Trixie did. She growled and advanced on Rose, angry at the girl for mocking her misery. Enrike half flew, half ran into the room and crashed into Fora. The two started fighting, clawing and biting and scratching each other. Fora didn't care that he was her brother anymore; he was twisted by the Huntsclan's magic and in her rage, he was no better than they were. She tore off a row of scales and he yowled like an injured cat.

In turn, Enrike bit on her tail, making blood seep into his mouth. Fora yelped and clawed at his face before spitting fire at him. He didn't move fast enough and was hit in the face with the claws, then in the back with the fire. With Enrike down, even if for a moment, Fora turned on Rose.

Everyone was too preoccupied with the cat-fight (or should it be dragon-fight?) to fight. Never before had they seen two dragons so violent; not even the Dark Dragon had reached this sort of fighting. When Fora had knocked away the gray dragon, Jake became his dragon self and tackled Fora to the ground. "Snap out of it," he ordered Fora. To Trixie and Spud, he said "Take care of Rose; I'm going to hold down Fora." He wasn't sure if they could fight Rose very well, but he was rather confident that neither of them could hold down a half-crazed dragon. So, Jake took his chances and asked his friends to fight for him.

Rose decided that she should take down Trixie first, seeing as how she was already hit with an energy blast. Then it would be a one-on-one, even if Spud was bigger than her. Bigger did not necessarily mean stronger. Rose aimed with the staff and released the shot. Trixie dodged it and flew at Rose, who stepped to the side and brought the staff down on Trixie's back.

Spud came up behind her and tried to wrest the weapon from her grip. Rose elbowed him in the stomach; dragons have soft stomachs, with thinner scales on their undersides. The tactic worked, and Spud backed up, holding his stomach where she elbowed it and out of breath. Trixie managed to get away from Rose, one claw on her back.

The two of them were more wary now, and fought cautiously. Trixie managed to release a fireball at Rose. She deflected it with the staff, so Trixie tripped her with her tail. Rose fell back and shot her staff up, catching Spud in the jaw after he tried to pin Rose down.

"Really?" he managed to ask. "Are you going to keep beating me up with that thing?"

"Yes, I am," Rose replied, hitting him again in the stomach.

Spud was having enough of that thing. He took hold of it, and rather than force it from her grip, Spud broke the staff in half. Rose's eyes grew wide as she realized what would happen. She pushed Spud away and ran into the garage, leaving the dragons confused.

Lao Shi and the Dragon Council were searching the city from an aerial approach, looking for Jake, Spud Trixie, and if she was with them, Fora. Lao Shi was searching the alleyways when an explosion drew his attention. The roof of a building had been obliterated in the explosion, leaving a gaping hole. Sirens began to go off around the city as police cruisers, ambulances and fire trucks began to speed their way to the house. Without realizing it, all five dragons flew over and into the house.

Lao Shi landed in the room that the detonation originated in. He looked around, seeing that the walls had been painted black. A quick search came up with five dragons, one more than he had been expecting. The Council members landed in the room, and without a word, each dragon took one of their own into the sky and to safety.

Jake woke up with a pounding headache and he groaned. "Aw man," he murmured. "My head is killing me."

"Then take this," a quiet voice said. Jake opened his eyes and saw Gramps was giving him a water bottle and a medicinal pill. "It will help with the pain." Jake took the pill and opened the water bottle, drinking as much water as he could. "What happened in there?"

"Rose…she took Fora prisoner, but we didn't know it. Earlier, she invited me to her house. I went, and she knocked me out with a sedative or something. Fora somehow bit through the chains Rose used to keep us down, but we pretended to still be captured, so we could buy a little more time and learn as much as we could before fighting or escaping.

"After a while, Rose came and told us that 88 and 89, the two Huntsclan members that still existed, remember Gramps? Rose told us that they accidentally brought back the Aztec Skulls and wished that the Huntsclan was back. Then she said that turned her back to the way she was before. She said she killed a dragon they tried to capture with a spell, but it failed and the dragon went berserk. So she killed it. Because she did that, she was given a servant, a dragon that was already under the Huntsclan's control.

"I saw him, Gramps. Remember when you told me that when a dragon is really, _really_ sick its scales will turn gray? That's what its scales were; the color of slate, like the sidewalks. He left for a while, before Trixie and Spud found us somehow; Spud ripped my chains out of the wall and yelled in my face, asking if I was okay. He didn't know that the chains were already broken.

"Trixie asked what happened and Rose hit her with a blast from a Huntstaff. I don't know where she got it from; I didn't see one in the room at all. Then Rose whistled, and the dragon flew into Fora, after she became a dragon." Jake shuddered. "I've never seen two dragons fight like that before. It was like they were looking to kill. Fora knocked the other dragon out and I had to pin her to the ground. I asked Spud and Trixie to fight Rose, because I was afraid Fora might attack everyone else, and I doubt Trixie and Spud together would have been enough to hold her down.

"Trixie and Spud started fighting each other; I didn't see most of it, but I think Spud broke the Huntstaff and it exploded. I didn't see where Rose went, but the explosion definitely knocked me out like a light." Jake managed to sit up. "Where is everyone else?"

Lao Shi looked down. The Dragon Council is tending to your friends as we speak. They are expected to recover soon, young dragon."

"Why are you looking down, then?"

"The other dragon, the gray one you mentioned. He was the Greek Dragon, known as Enrike. He was Fora's older brother."

"Gramps," Jake asked slowly. "What do you mean 'he was'?"

"The wounds he sustained from the fight, and then the explosion killed him. He didn't die immediately, but he died while all of you were brought here."

Jake lay back and closed his eyes. He felt sadness for the girl he had met only today. Fora had met Trixie, Spud, Jake, Lao Shi and Fu Dog; helped to train two new dragons; been reunited with her brother, but only to learn that he was turned evil. And now he was dead, killed indirectly by those who had taken over her brother. If Jake listened carefully, he could hear the girl crying softly.


	6. Interlude

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OC.

Author's Note: This is going to be short, yeah. I didn't plan on it being very long, this is just supposed to tie up some loose ends.

Chapter VI

_-2 weeks later-_

Jake smirked and did a somersault in the air. He managed to dodge the fireball sent at him by Trixie. Spud came in and held him down; well, as down as possible when you're flying in the air. Jake struggled in his grip and saw Trixie loading another fireball. He got an idea and did a 180 flip, bringing Spud forward and directly into the fireball's path. It hit Spud in the back and he let go of Jake, who sped away, laughing. Trixie and Spud chased after him.

Lao Shi and the Dragon Council watched from the roof of the shop. Fu Dog stood back a ways, somewhat wary of so many powerful creatures in one place. Not all of the Council agreed, but it was a form of a democracy, so a vote had to take place. More Council members voted yes, while only one voted no. So Trixie and Spud kept their powers, but were farther back in line for the title of 'American Dragon'. The Council members decided that their 'birth' as dragons was not at the same time they were born, so it set them behind Haley. Not that it mattered to them. They were happy enough to keep their powers and be able to help Jake to a greater extent than before.

Fora came up onto the roof and stood next to Fu Dog. He looked up at her. She looked sad, and that was understandable. She had lost her brother, the last known remaining member of her family. Even if she did attack him back in Rose's house, they were still family. And now he was dead.

"How are you doing?" Fu Dog asked. He waited, but received no answer. He turned back to watch Jake fly up and have Spud and Trixie fly headfirst into each other. Fora spoke then, and she was quiet.

"I feel like I should; miserable. And yet, I feel hope. Just because my father has died, and now my brother, does not mean all hope is lost. My mother is still alive, and I have new friends. New York has become my new home, and today is a new day."


	7. Sickness

Disclaimer: I do not own ADJL, or any of its characters. The only things I own are this story, my idea for the story, and my OCs.

Author's Note: This is a rather dark chapter, so read the warning.

Warning: There are some crashes, dragon instincts and more fighting in this chapter. If you dislike these, then you shouldn't have made it this far into the story. Go away and read something else; I've told you _**there is fighting. **_Edited on 08/05/12. Edited again on 12/10/12.

Chapter VII

Jake was confused. First his friends aren't in school, now they weren't at the skate park? If they were both at appointments with the doctor or dentist, they would either be here, or call and let him know they would be busy. This didn't happen, so that left a few possibilities. One, they were kidnapped; unlikely, but not impossible. Two, they were both involved in accidents that had killed or injured them. More unlikely than the first, so that would leave option number three. Both of them had come down with something, and were too sick to come to school or the park. Jake raced back home to call them.

Rose kneeled before her master. "Huntsman," she said, "I have confirmed that there are two new dragons aiding the American Dragon. Neither of them has been recorded in the logs, so they are not older dragons that are teaching the next generation."

The Huntsman tapped his staff against the ground. "And do you know who they are in their human forms?"

"No sir, but I have a few ideas about who they may be."  
The Huntsman nodded. "Alright, then scout the area with your dragon. Report back to me in one week's time."

"Sir, the dragon was compromised," Rose confided.

Her superior's voice became taut with barely restrained rage. "And why is this?"  
"Another dragon fought with him, and he was caught in the explosion that resulted from my staff being broken," Rose answered. "It seems that the spell weakens the dragon the longer it is held, sir. His scales were gray the last I saw of him."  
The Huntsman leaned back, a sigh permeating the air before he could answer. "Learn the identities of these dragons, then. If possible, capture them and bring them back alive. The American Dragon as well. If not, then kill them and any others that stand in your way."

Jake grabbed the phone off of the receiver and dialed Spud's number. The phone began to ring, but no one answered. Jake hung up the phone and dialed Trixie's number, but with the same effect. Hayley came into the kitchen, just returning home from school.

"Hey Jake, what's up?" she asked.

"I called Trixie and spud, but no one answered," Jake said.

"Maybe they're at the skate park. But since you're here, then they probably aren't there. Have you checked at Grandpa's?" she offered.

Jake perked up at the idea. "No, I haven't," he confessed. "Thanks Hayley," he said before running out the door with his skateboard.

"They haven't been here," Fu Dog said. "Why? Something happen?"

"No, this just feels… off, I guess. Like there's something up but I just don't know what it is. Maybe they're sick…" Jake trailed off. "I'll be back later."

Trixie's was closer, so Jake headed there first.

"No," her mother answered. "She was sick this morning, and hasn't been able to get out of bed. She isn't allowed any visitors right now, I'm sorry."

The same was true for Spud; he was sick and couldn't get out of bed, no visitors. Something was up, but was what it? The whole thing frustrated Jake to no end. He was sitting at the shop counter when it hit him.

"Hey Fu Dog, do you know what happened to Fora?"  
"Huh? That dragon girl? She went to Greece, because when her brother died, she became the Greek Dragon. Why?"

"What if her potion has something to do with Trixie and Spud getting sick? She said there 'was a chance she would have to take.'"

"I don't think that's it. She asked about their lineage because if they did have any magical history, then there was a high chance it would make those genes active."

"And the rest of the time?"

"The potion wouldn't work or would kill them."

"What?" Jake yelled. "It would _kill them_?"

"You see, that's why it can't be the potion. It would have killed them immediately."

"Did she tell you that?"

"Well, no," Fu Dog answered sheepishly. "Should I call her here?" The glare was answer enough. "Then I'll get right on that, then."

Lao Shi came down the stairs and called Jake over. "You have work to do," he told his grandson.

Fora leaned back and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. Being the Greek Dragon was important, she knew, but it was tiring. Now she knew how her father felt, always working at all hours of the night. And whenever Fora asked why he was so tired in the morning, he would always tell her that his bosses needed him for something important. Which would make Fora would tell him his bosses were stupid. He would laugh and hug her, making her laugh in turn.

"Delivery for Fora," a voice said.

Fora looked over to the source, a small blue pixie with a mailman's bag. She paid him and took the letter. It was addressed from Fu Dog. Fora felt a small smile creep up on her face. Finally, something other than work! The letter was short, and informed her that something had happened to Jake's friends, and it may be linked to the potion she gave them. Fora looked at her watch. If she went as fast as she could, which was roughly 200 mph, she would make it to New York City in just over a day. Fora stood up and cracked her back, which had been getting sore from sitting still too long. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Tomorrow was no better. Jake was worried about his friends, so he couldn't sit still in any of his classes. Then again, it wasn't like he got very good grades. He couldn't wait for school to end that day. Once it did, Jake was out in a flash. He didn't stop by the skate park; he knew that the two skaters wouldn't be there. Instead, he went to Trixie's and Spud's again. There wasn't any change from yesterday, he was told. If anything, their conditions were worse, he assumed. Heading back to Gramp's shop, he knew that working would help keep him occupied. His thoughts distracted him from the person entering the shop, and he crashed into her.

"Sorry!" he said. The hit hadn't hurt him very much, and he was more worried about the person that fell over.

"I'm fine," she told him, waving him away with a hand. She stood up, putting her hands on the ground for leverage. When they got a good look at each other, they were surprised to see the other. "Hi Jake, Fu Dog actually called me here about your friends," Fora told him.

Jake nodded and said "He's inside."

Once everyone was situated, Jake explained what had happened to his friends. Fora leaned back in the chair she was given and closed her eyes. Jake watched her expectantly, while Fu Dog relaxed and Lao Shi did who-knows-what somewhere else. A fly flew near Jake and he waved it away. After a few minutes had passed, Jake began to get angry. He snapped his fingers a few times in front of Fora's face and she woke up.

"Sorry, what?" Fora asked. When she saw where she was she said "Oh, sorry." She rubbed her eyes like the day before. "I was flying for just over a day, and when I got to New York, I headed straight to the shop. Flying takes a lot out of you, I guess." She yawned and scratched her head.

"The potion doesn't have any side effects. It will work, do nothing at all, or cause spontaneous combustion of the cells. There aren't any other options. Maybe it has something to do with their families," Fora offered. Jake looked at her blankly. "I mean, what if there is a sickness in their families that only affects magical creatures? That would explain why their sick and their parents aren't, why they're getting sick now, _and_ why they didn't know of any magical history in their ancestry. Except for Spud's grandfather, I guess."

Jake hit a fist into his other hand. "That could explain it. Fu, is there some sort of record system for magical families?"

"There could be. We can check the magical community for a library."

"Are you coming with us Fora?" Jake looked at the girl. "Fora?" She had fallen asleep in the chair. She was right; flying takes a lot out of you.

Rose narrowed her eyes as the fly returned to her. It was a complex little piece of machinery, used to spy on others unnoticed. Sadly, it was still in the testing stages, and wasn't quite ready for field work. Even so, Rose convinced the testers to let her use, as it would be good for their testing. She would have to bring it back to decrypt the data it now held, but she had more with her that she could use.

It was too bad that Jake knew she was actively working with the Huntsclan, but she honestly wasn't expecting more dragons to come. His grandfather, yes, but he could be contained with ease. The two _new_ dragons, on the other hand, they were the wild cards. The shop door opened and the bell tinkled, warning Rose that someone was entering or exiting the shop. Rose looked down and saw Jake holding a leash, walking the Shar Pei. They were probably heading out somewhere, so Rose would have to follow them.

"How are we going to find anything with all of these books?" Jake cried out.

"By asking the librarian," Fu Dog answered. He pressed a small bell on the librarian's desk. He turned around. He looked fairly human, with short blond hair and thin wire glasses. "We're looking for records on the Dragon families," Fu explained.

The librarian nodded and walked out from behind the desk. He was a centaur, with a roan horse body. His hooves had something resembling slippers on them, presumably to muffle their clopping. He led the two past rows of bookshelves, each one easily twelve feet tall and having several hundred books together. The centaur took a sudden turn and gestured at the books. All of the books on the shelf, Jake soon realized, were of the Dragon's family records. Fu Dog quietly thanked the librarian, who left without a word, leaving the two to search the shelves.

"How are we going to find anything here?" Jake whispered.

"By looking and reading," Fu Dog said, unusually patient.

Several hours passed with no results. The sun descended in the sky, transforming into the sunset, not that it was noticed. Jake felt himself falling asleep in his seat, words blurring in his vision. Fu Dog gave up, pulling his ears slightly, showing just how frustrated he was. He went back to the librarian, asking for the most recently updated records. The centaur led him away, Jake succumbing to sleep.

When Fu returned, he found Jake with his head on the table, a small puddle of drool on his arm that had escaped his lips. Fu Dog shook Jake, but to no avail. So he pushed the kid out of his seat. Sure, it was a bit cruel, but undeniably effective.

"Hey! What was that for?" Jake asked, rubbing his head.

"We have a few more to check," Fu Dog said. "It's got to be in one of these three books. The librarian said that they are enchanted to self-update, as long as they have enough paper left in them."

So this lead to another hour of searching the books, since the two were unsure of how many times the books had updated themselves since Trixie and Spud had gained their abilities. Fu Dog finished one book and moved on to another. Jake was still tired, so it took him much longer than it should have to search the records. What he did find woke him up like an uppercut from a world-class boxer.

"Fu, take a look at this," Jake said, pushing the book over to his friend.

Fu took the book and skimmed the lines Jake was talking abut. The words made him whiten.

"I'll go check this out," he whispered, before running over to the check out desk.

Jake wondered how he could have gotten his friends into such a mess without knowing. He started listing questions that he would ask his grandfather and Fora as soon as they got back to the shop. One: is this possible? Two: how could _any _of them missed this? And three: could it be stopped before it was too late? Jake buried his face into his arms, frustrated that he didn't know what to do.

Rose returned back to the Huntsclan's base, ready to return the spy bugs to the technicians so that their data could be extracted. Then she searched for the Huntsman, to give him a status report. Not much had occurred, but she did learn that Jake's friends were sick, and that this had some sort of importance, enough to call a dragon to them, enough to search for in library tomes. Something was up, and Rose was going to figure out what it was.

After nearly a half hour of searching, Rose learned that the Huntsman was in a meeting, and if she wished to talk with him, then she should wait in his chamber. So she walked there, figuring out what was important enough to be mentioned. All of it, really.

Jake raised his head to look at Fu Dog. "So are they going to die?"

"I don't know," Fu Dog answered. For once, he was at a complete loss. They were going back to the shop, frustrated, angry and depressed, the knowledge heavy in their hearts. "I guess we know why their sick," Fu Dog said.

"Yeah, because of some stupid curse. It explains why there aren't any magical ties in their family; they all _die_," Jake groused.

Fu Dog's ears perked; if this was a cartoon, there would have been a light bulb above his head. Before Jake could ask why he was excited, they reached the shop. Jake took the leash off and Fu ran inside, looking for someone or something. Jake put the book down on the shop counter before going after his friend.

"What'd you find?" Jake asked.

"Maybe we can get the person that cursed them to lift it," Fu Dog answered. Then he looked back at Jake, poking his head around some boxes he tackled earlier. "Isn't it a little strange though -they're related- if distantly so."

Jake shuddered. "Don't remind me," he complained. He went over to help the dog search for whatever it was he was looking for. "What do you need?"  
"My phone."

Twenty minutes later, Jake and Fu were on their way to wherever Fu was leading Jake. He refused to tell him where they were going, and Jake's pleading earned him odd looks from passerby. Fu sat on the ground, and Jake nearly tripped. When he righted himself, he saw Rotwood's garage.

"Here?" Jake asked.

"He's the last living descendant of the witch that cursed the family," Fu explained. "Sadly, he's the only one that can take the curse off. And," he said, interrupting Jake, who had tried to speak, "I already have something that we can use to bargain with him."

"What?"

Fu Dog grinned at Jake, refusing to answer. Jake shook his head and knocked on Rotwood's door. The garage door opened, and Rotwood could be seen holding the door up.

"What do you want?" the teacher asked. "Can't you see I am busy?"

"Rotwood, I mean Professor, I have something to ask of you."

Rotwood looked at Jake closely, making the boy feel uncomfortable. "What exactly is it that you need?" Rotwood asked slowly.

"Is it alright if we go inside first?"

Rotwood nodded and Jake led Fu Dog into the garage. There were less magic-related things scattered about than there had been the last time Jake came by. Fu took a good look around while the two humans talked.

"What is it exactly that you need, dragon?" Rotwood said accusingly.

Jake felt himself flinch slightly. "My friends, Trixie and Spud, are sick because of something your great-great-great grandmother did. And I need you to cure them, I guess."

Rotwood pulled out two step stools out from underneath a table and set them up. He sat in one and Jake in the other. "Explain," he asked.

Rose flinched slightly when she realized her mistake. "I am sorry, Huntsman. It will not happen again."

"No. It _will not_ happen again, because you are no longer on this mission."

"Sir-" she tried to interject.

"No! You have failed me for the last time," he said, anger seeping into every word. He slapped a hand down onto the desk, cracking the wood. "You are being replaced. Go, I don't care where. Just go somewhere, and if I see you again, then you will regret ever being brought to us."

Rose stood, managing to mask her fear. She walked out of the room, sure that her knees would give way and let her fall to the floor. Never before had she been so cursory; never before had she been so careless; never before had she failed the Huntsman. She was losing her edge, she realized. She shut the door behind her, and felt her breath hitch in her lungs.

It had been nearly ten minutes since Jake had come into Rotwood's garage. Five minutes were used to explain what was going on, two to answer the teacher's questions, and three were spent sitting here while the man paced his garage. Rotwood seemed concerned for his former students, caring if they were injured and/or dying. And that was what concerned Jake the most. He was the antagonist here! (Well, one of many.) He wasn't supposed to care if others were hurt. He wanted to expose magical creatures to the world, bring down the peace that has lasted so far. He wasn't supposed to _care_. And yet, here he was, trying to figure out how best to help them. Maybe it was because he was human, after all.

"Err, Rot- I mean, Professor. Why exactly do you care?" Jake asked.

Rotwood looked p, momentarily confused. "About what?"

"Helping Spud and Trixie. Why do you care?"

Rotwood hesitated, seeming unsure if he should answer. When he did, it was a surprise to Jake. "Because I am human. I am no monster." Rotwood seemed nervous as he began to pace once more. "I have stopped caring about exposing the magical world some years ago. It does not matter to me any more; I would rather learn about them, correct the mistakes I have made before. So, before we begin… whatever it is you wish for me to perform, I would like to ask you something. You do not have to answer if you do not wish to. I'll still help.

Jake traded looks with Fu Dog. Whatever it was he had in mind, this was not it.

"What is it?"

"Are you a dragon first, or a human first?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, when it comes to what you are, are you a dragon first, or a human first? I guess what I mean is that are you a dragon that becomes a human, or a human that becomes a dragon?"

Realization dawned on Jake's face before being clouded by confusion again. He had never thought about it before, as he had no reason to. He decided he would ask Gramps later.

"I don't know."

Rotwood nodded thoughtfully before rubbing his hands together. "Let's get started then."

Fu Dog decided this was a good time to reveal what he was. "Okay then. I'm going to need you to say this," pulling a paper out of somewhere and standing so Rotwood could reach it. Jake learned a long time ago not to question how his guardian did this. "And after that, we should be good to go."

"This is it?" Fu Dog nodded. Jake noticed that Rotwood didn't even react to Fu Dog standing or talking. "Okay."

"We're in position," 36 said over the radio. A simple device, but not one anyone would expect. "You ready?"

"_We're good. On the count of three?_" The words were crackled and distorted over the bandwidth. "_Three, two, one, go._"

36 was launched forwards by his dragon. She was a light cerulean, with dragonfly-like wings and antlers, opposed to the stereotypical horns that dragons often posses. She was rather thin, like a snake, but was strong enough to hold up her rider. Oddly, she also had black hair, but 36 guessed that this was because she had no spinal ridges, not even at the end of her tail, which instead ended in feathers.

23, 36's partner, would be coming up next to him. His dragon was a alarming violet, with red eyebrows and an orange spinal ridge. The dragon was short, in terms of height, and in the shape of a typical Oriental Dragon. It had two whip-like whiskers that streamed behind it as it flew, and two large bat-like wings, the only thing that set it apart from the 'traditional' dragon.

23 grinned at his friend, and 36 gave him a thumbs up. The two of them locked on target: the garage door.

"Thank you, Mr. Rotwood."

The professor just waved them along, opening the garage door for them. Two blurs whipped past them into the garage, smashing into the wall. Jake tensed, seeing that there were two dragons that just face planted themselves into Rotwood's garage. Rotwood himself looked more perplexed than excited, and more curious than scared. The dragons groaned and lifted themselves up, trying to clear their heads. Jake saw that each dragon had a rider, both of them Huntsclan members. A quick inventory of their appearances showed that neither of them were Rose.

One was clearly a girl, lithe like an acrobat, and dressed almost exactly as Rose was, but her braided hair was red rather than blond. She also had '23' on her shoulders in clear silver thread. The other one was a guy, more muscular than his companion, but not overly so. He looked more like a pitcher rather than a quarterback. Like his companion, his ID number was written in silver thread on the shoulders. His proclaimed '36'.

The riders slipped off of the dragon's backs and readied themselves for a fight. They gave Jake little time to react as they charged at him, ignoring Rotwood and Fu Dog. Jake sidestepped, turning so he could watch the two rush by out into the street. Jake glanced at Rotwood, silently warning him to run. The he dragon-ed up, ready to fight. Instead, he was tackled from behind by the two dragons. Jake twisted around and felt his breath catch.

"Sun Park?" he whispered.

The Korean dragon snarled at him, head butting him with her antlers. Jake struggled under the weight of the two older dragons. He managed to roll over, bringing the two underneath him, before jumping off of them and hovering in the air.

By then, 23 and 36 had regained their bearings and had pulled out their staffs. Both of them charged an energy ball before releasing them at Jake. He dodged the attacks, scoffing at them. Then the dragons hit him again, this time coming from below. They flew downwards, throwing him into the cement. Jake could have sworn he heard his ribs break as he began wheezing for breath.

23 held her staff at Jake's neck while 36 contacted the Huntsclan. Jake focused on 23, knowing that she was the bigger threat at the moment. He closed his mouth and gathered fire for a fireball, trying to keep any fire from spilling out and alerting her. When he deemed it big enough, he shot it at the girl. 36 turned as 23 was knocked back, unconscious. The boy's eyes widened before Jake tripped him with his tail, knocking it into the backs of his knees.

The dragons screeched as their masters were taken down. Jake knew he had to fight them, but he didn't want to hurt Sun. She was Hayley's old teacher; how would she take it if she heard Jake was fighting her? Or, if by accident, Sun was killed in the fight, just as Fora's brother had been? Jake felt himself shudder at the thought and lose focus. The purple dragon took advantage of this and bit into Jake's shoulder, teeth digging into the skin beneath the scales.

Jake yelled and began to claw at the other dragon. He felt himself slipping into his dragon instincts, something that could be potentially fatal. He would be acting more animalistic, and may attack Fu and Rotwood, thinking they were enemies. He would be incapable of integral thinking, unable to work things out. Really, he would be unable to think in any use of the term. Despite this knowledge, Jake felt himself slipping further and further into the darkness that was his instincts. He heard Fu Dog yell something at Rotwood, hopefully taking him somewhere safe. Then the darkness took over.

Jake turned his head, growling at the pain in his shoulder, and bit the purple dragon at the base of its skull. It yelped and let go, thrashing. The movement only sent Jakes' teeth further into its skin, bringing the points closer to the spinal cord, the vulnerable nerve tissue that runs parallel to the bone of the spine. Jake growled again and the other dragon stopped, shivering and whining in Jake's grip. He clamped down tighter, earning another whine of pain from the dragon, before letting it go.

It dropped to the ground with a plop before scuttling over to a table in the garage. It shivered and whined as Sun glared at her opponent. The two dragons growled at each other before leaping, each aiming for the other's neck. Sun caught Jake under his chin with one of her antlers, knocking his breath out for a moment. She followed it up by choking him, claws tightly grasped around his windpipe. Jake choked, unable to breathe at all. He bucked underneath her, whipped his tail, and flapped his wings, all in an attempt to throw off the older dragon. He tried to pry off her claws, but her grip was like steel.

Finally, in a last ditch attempt, he bit her arm down to the bone, feeling bones crunch in his grip. Sun roared in pain and backed off, left arm now useless. Jake shot up, breathing heavily. He glared at the other dragon and spit a stream of fire at her. It was thin, like a jet from a water hose. Sun, distracted with her arm, was hit in the cheek. He roar died down to a whimper and she backed off further. Jake glared at her and she looked down. Jake growled at them and they hunkered down. He growled again, telling them he wanted them to change into their human forms. They whimpered in response.

They would tense up and relax, shaking the entire time. Even while drowned in his dragon instincts, Jake could tell there was something wrong, but unable to figure it out. Jake stepped threateningly towards the other dragons, who lifted their heads up to the sky. A sign of submission, of weakness. A signal of surrender.

Jake felt something come from behind, and Jake bared his teeth in a growl. If Jake wasn't messed up, he would have recognized the dragon as his grandfather. As it was, all he felt was another enemy imposing on him. With a snarl, Jake leaped at the new dragon, just as Sun had done a few minutes ago.

The blue dragon reeled back in surprise, making Jake fall short of his mark. Realization spread across the dragon's features as Jake lifted himself up. The other dragon rose into the air and Jake let it fly away. He growled again before closing his eyes, the fighting having taken all of his energy.

"What happened to them?" Rotwood asked Fu Dog. He had only seen a few moments of the dragons fighting, but it was enough. "Why did they act that way?"

"Dragons have instincts, like every other animal. Just like humans do. And when a dragon, like a human, feels threatened and backed into a corner, they will fight for their lives."

Rotwood mulled over this as sounds came from outside. It was obviously Jake fighting with the other dragons, but neither Rotwood nor Fu wanted to think about that.

"Do you have a phone?" Fu asked. Somewhat surprised, Rotwood pointed at a corded phone hanging on the wall. Fu pulled it off the hook and punched in some numbers. Lao Shi's voice came on over the phone.

"Hello?"

"We've got a problem. It's Jake," Fu Dog said.

Lao Shi flew overhead, looking for the fighting dragons. He remembered Fu Dog telling him that Jake had been hurt by two other dragons, making his instinct take over. Which was obviously not good; the instinct washed out reasoning, and anything that came too close was almost immediately tagged as an enemy.

Lao Shi looked below him, catching a glimpse of a dragon backing away from Jake. It backed away, out of his sight, and nothing seemed to happen for several minutes. Lao Shi flew down and landed, ready to fly away if Jake wasn't ready to talk. Based on the way Jake turned, he was still unable to control himself. Then he spotted the bite marks and the shoulder awash with blood. The old dragon realized that attack had caused Jake to give in to his instincts, willingly or not. He then flew upwards, hoping Jake wouldn't follow. He didn't, and Lao Shi saw his grandson waver slightly before falling.

He flew back down before calling Fu out. Together, the two of them hoisted Jake onto his grandfather's back, so he could be flown back to the shop. After some discussion, they agreed to bring the other two dragons. Lao Shi felt himself almost have a heart attack when he saw that one of the dragons Jake fought was Sun Park. It took much easing and coaxing to bring them out of their hiding spots, and even more to get them to follow Lao Shi. Fu Dog offered to stay back with Rotwood to clean the mess, something that the professor looked grateful for.

Jake shot up in the bed. He could feel that he had been unconscious only for a few hours, and was sure he was going to get attacked. He relaxed slightly when he didn't see any dragons, then felt confusion. He didn't remember what happened very well, only that he was fighting. And then his instincts took over. Jake shuddered. After gaining control of himself, it felt wrong, being like that. He wasn't in control, he could have hurt someone. He did hurt someone, he realized, remembering the fights more clearly.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder and Jake flinched away from it. He looked at the person and saw Spud, concern obvious on his face. Jake couldn't help himself; he gave Spud a hug, then one to Trixie, who had walked in carrying a pizza box.

"Hey, hey! Watch the pizza!" she yelled, trying not to drop the food. Spud laughed and took the box, setting it down on a nightstand next to the bed. "How are you, Jakey?" Trixie asked as soon as he let her go.

Jake frowned at her. "I should be asking you two that. You were sick, not me."

"So?" Spud said. "You were bitten by another dragon, not us."

Jake started slightly when he heard that. He pulled down the sleeve of his shirt. There were bandages, stained a light pink from the blood. Jake winced before shrugging the sleeve back up.

"Fu Dog told us 'bout what you two found at the library. And how you guys fixed it."

"And then about the fight. He didn't see too much of it, but he told us a little bit. Can you tell us what happened?" Spud asked.

Jake shook his head. That was not something he wanted to experience again. Trixie saw this and changed the subject.

"Well, somehow, you broke the spell on Miss Park and the other dragon."

"What?" Jake looked at Trixie. "How?"

"We're not entirely sure. But the Dragon Council came and did some testing or something and said that, despite their injuries," Jake winced at this, "the spell was somehow broken. The only thing they can't figure out is how."

Jake had to smile, even if it was a sad one. He had cured their friends but there was something still bugging him.

"Where's Fora?" he asked, realizing he hadn't seen the girl at all, since she flew in from Athens.

Just then she walked into the room, stretching her arms into the air. Fora stopped, standing on one foot, and there was a cracking noise. Then she reached around Spud and flicked the box open before taking a slice of pizza.

"How are you Jake? Feeling better?" The three friends couldn't help but laugh at that, leaving the girl confused.

Author's Note: For the little scene with the dragon's instincts, I would like to thank * and her American Dragon story, 'Instincts'. It's rather touching, and gave me inspiration for Jake's fight scene in this chapter. Also, for those of you that were wondering, the cracking noise was Fora's back. My back does that sometimes as well, so I do know what I'm talking about. Kudos to: Guest, KaliAnn, Major Simi, AnimationNut, NyxNinja and Astraea802. Thank you.  
*- You know what? I apologize, this site just hates my fellow FF user's name. Here is the link to her profile, since I can't save the document with her name in it. www . fanfiction u / 3847067 / Just remove the spaces.


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